Breakdancing Essays - Street Dance, English-language Films, Films

Breakdancing Breakdancing Breakdancing a form of African American dance that emerged from the hip hop culture of the South Bronx, New York, during the mid-1970s. Drawing upon several African American dance forms, break dancing coalesced in the 1970s and reached its peak in popularity during the 1980s. Breakdancing developed out of the Bronx, New York, disco scene. When disco DJs changed records, dancers would fill the resulting musical breaks, or "breakbeats," with movements that emphasized the rupture in rhythmic continuity. These highly acrobatic interludes developed into a new genre that mixed Afrodiasporic dance styles, reflecting the influence of the lindy-hop, the Charleston, the cakewalk, and the jitterbug as well as the Afro-Brazilian martial-arts dance Capoeira and the antics of Kung Fu movies. Breakdancing included "breaking" (flipping, spinning, pivoting on the head and hands), "up-rock" (a mock-combat style, often directed against an opponent), and "webbo" (fast footwork between other dance moves). When breakdancing spread to Los Angeles, California, dancers added the "electric boogie," automaton-like dance moves that incorporated pantomime. In the beginning, breakdancers adopted a confrontational attitude, as "crews" met each other in fake rumbles that often turned into real fights. Even peaceful displays resembled the competitive toasting of Bronx musicians in concurrently developing rap music. Like other facets of the hip hop movement, breakdancing met with commercial success and public notoriety in the early 1980s. Paralleling Soho's embrace of Bronx graffiti art, Manhattan dance clubs welcomed breakdancers to their floors. And like rap, breakdancing appeared in a number of popular films, including Wild Style (1982), Breakin' (1984), and Beat Street (1984), which featured the Rock Steady Crew, breakdancing's most renowned posse. This publicity, which deemphasized breakdancing's confrontational aspect, turned the dance into a national sensation among white as well as black youths; suburban schoolchildren donned hip hop fashions, and some white teenagers signed up for breakdancing lessons. Widespread media attention diminished breakdancing's power as a unique voice of self-affirmation for inner-city youth. Its influence, however, set the trajectory of subsequent dance trends. Black performers such as Michael Jackson, MC Hammer, and Missy Elliot draw from breakdance styles that never stop evolving. Even such breakdancing originals as Richard "Crazy Legs" Coln of the Rock Steady Crew, continue to innovate and perform.

Robert Burns Quotes

Robert Burns Quotes Recognized as one of the greatest Scottish writers of all time, Robert Burns had a great deal to say. He was born in 1759 and is perhaps the most well-known Scots language poet. However much of his poetry was also written in English, which often included the bluntest of his harsh political commentary. His English writing often included Scottish dialects. He was a charismatic pioneer of the Romantics literary movement. His most famous work is Auld Lang Syne which is sung in many countries at the stroke of Midnight on New Years Eve to help usher in the new year. Burns claims to have transcribed the folk song from an old man whod had the song passed on to him.   Political Robert Burns Quote While Europes eye is fixd on mighty things, The fate of empires and the fall of kings; While quacks of State must each produce his plan, And even children lisp the Rights of Man; Amid this mighty fuss just let me mention, The Rights of Woman merit some attention. Inspirational Quotes Dare to be honest and fear no labor. Firmness in enduring and exertion is a character I always wish to possess. I have always despised the whining yelp of complaint and cowardly resolve. His locked, lettered, braw brass collar, Shewed him the gentleman and scholar. Libertys in every blow! Let us do or die. Mans inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn! Nae man can tether time or tide. Nursing her wrath to keep it warm. Prudent, cautious self-control is wisdoms root. Suspense is worse than disappointment. There is no such uncertainty as a sure thing. Nature Quotes The daisys for simplicity and unaffected air. The snowdrop and primrose our woodlands adorn, and violets bathe in the wet o the morn. Companionship Quotes The wide world is all before us - but a world without a friend. To liken them to your auld- warld squad, I must needs say comparisons are odd. Afflictions sons are brothers in distress; A brother to relieve, how exquisite the bliss! Ah, gentle dames! it gars we greet, To think how mony consels sweet, How mony lengthened, sage advices, The husband frae the wife despises. And may you better reck the rede, than ever did th adviser. And there begins a lang digression about the lords o the creation.

Microeconomy principle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Microeconomy principle - Essay Example It is also referred to as personalized pricing because the consumer is willing to pay any price for the units sold. On the other hand, third degree price discrimination refers to the charging of different prices for the same good but in different market segments. The price that is set for a product depends directly on the readiness of the customer to pay for the good. The prices of the products do not depend on the cost of production. As a result, third degree price discrimination, compared to first, depends on the elasticity of demand. First degree price discrimination is also referred to as perfect discrimination (Chakravarty 2009). This is because the seller has capacity to take out all consumer surplus from the consumers. The producer is able to convert customer surplus into producer surplus because of the unique features of his goods that allow him some discretion over price of the product. In competitive markets, just by selling goods at different prices to customers can give t he producer discretion over price and increase his profits. First degree price discrimination constitutes a type of different degree of price discrimination which includes second and third degrees. It is the price that all sellers aim for but is rarely achieved in the real world. On the contrary, third degree price discrimination is the most common form of price discrimination practiced. In order to achieve first degree price discrimination, the seller needs to have an idea of the highest demand price that buyers are ready to pay for every output bought. It is the difficulty with which this information is made available which makes it rare for sellers to achieve perfect price discrimination. In order to accomplish first degree price discrimination the seller must be able to meet three prerequisites. These include: 1. Having the capacity to influence price and to have market control. 2. Being able to recognize and estimate the market prices which customers are ready to pay. 3. Preven ting the buyer from selling the product back. On the other hand, third degree price discrimination is characteristic of market segmentation based on two parameters, i.e. by time and by geography. For instance, organizations who are selling their good abroad in a market where demand is inelastic may place a high price on them as compared to the prices charged when they are sold in the host country. This is because the consumer surplus to be extracted is more since the demand is not affected by changes in price. Another element associated with first degree price discrimination is the efficiency that the monopoly is able to accomplish. The organization is able to achieve maximum profits because it is able to balance marginal revenue and marginal cost. The following graph shows how the customers are willing to pay the amount the seller asks for. The customer is willing to pay the highest price for the first unit. As a second unit is bought, the customer pays less since the maximum price for the second unit is set less than that of the first one. Moving down the demand curve, the customer is willing to pay the maximum price as dictated by the demand of that unit. The subsequent units bought after the first one have a lower maximum price than the first one. The monopoly does not sell subsequent units at the same price as the first one. The monopolist is able to extract greater total revenue than if a uniform price was charged for all the goods

Cloud computing Risk or Opportunity Research Paper

Cloud computing Risk or Opportunity - Research Paper Example Since last few years, cloud computing has resulted in a number of positive impacts on the IT ecosystem, thereby giving rise to new markets and widely scattered new user communities (European Commission, 2012). Contextually, the concept of cloud computing is the outcome of the direct industrial needs to enhance resource utilization without intervening consumer requirements. In other words, the concept ensures the use of the available resources in more efficient manner (European Commission, 2012). The paper intends to critically examine the opportunities and the risks associated with cloud computing and draws a valid conclusion on its adoption by organizations. Cloud computing was initially used in an academic perspective by Prof. Kenneth K Chellapa who illustrated it in 1997 at the Informs Conference in Dallas as â€Å"a computing paradigm where the boundaries of computing will be determined by economic rationale rather than technical limits† (Petri, 2010). There are various definitions of cloud computing however the most appropriate and broadly accepted definition is being provided by North America National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). According to NIST, â€Å"Cloud Computing is a model for enabling convenient, on demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort to service provider interaction† (Petri, 2010). Public Cloud: Public cloud model is provided by vendors and can be accessed over the internet or private network. One or more data centers are used by this model which is shared by multiple customers (Weitz, 2010). Private Cloud: Private cloud model is managed and used internally by the organizations which utilizes ‘shared services model’ and makes variable usage of virtualized computing resources. The data stored in the model are managed within the organization (Weitz,

Ethics in Law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethics in Law - Research Paper Example The underlying principle of ethics in law enforcement entails stipulation of responsibilities of a police officer. A police officer is mandated with the responsibility of working within the law. His powers and duties must conform to the provisions of statute that outlines their responsibilities. Their fundamental duties includes serving people, maintaining peace, protecting lives and properties as well as ensuring that there is equality in the service delivery to all citizens (Moore and Perez 11). Nevertheless, some police officers conduct themselves in unprofessional manner both in their line of duty and while not working. People have a tendency of monitoring every conduct of police officers perhaps because they are expected to lead by example. Any actions that deviate from what they are expected to do, they are criticized and condemned. However, not every conduct of police officers can be well articulated or stipulated in the law. For instance, there has always been a great debate on whether police officers should take gratuities from the public. However, determination of the ethical issue involved in such a deed goes beyond what law provides. For instance, the issue of the intention of the officer when receiving the gratuity comes in. Some people argue that an officer can accept gratuity from members of the public only if they do not ask for it. Conversely, the issue of human rights and how suspects need to be handled by police officers during arrest has always been contentious. For instance, it has always remained ethical dilemma on what a police officer should do to suspects that resist arrest. It is apparent that lawyers have always had issues with their clients in regard to their conduct during judicial proceedings. However, law societies have with time provided leadership in legal issues by designing professional standards that governs lawyers. Values have been argued

Customer Satisfaction iPhone

Customer Satisfaction iPhone The Apple iPhone brought a whole new level on interface and features such as incorporating the iPod technology as well as multi-touch technology which let users to control everything using only their fingers. The research on the level of customer satisfaction on buying an iPhone has been done across the world as it was one of the first handphone that was release by Apple. Customer satisfaction is a vague and abstract concept and the actual expression of the state of satisfaction will vary depending on individuals needs and it also depends on the product or service. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other options the customer may have and other products against which the customer can compare the organizations products. It also distinguishes six qualities of attributes such as basic factors, excitement factors, performance factors, indifferent attributes, questionable attributes and reverse attributes. (Kano, 1984) The objective of this research is to analyze the level of satisfaction of having an iPhone based on certain factors. This research will look into factors such as price and quality where each factors has its respective advantages or disadvantages to affect the customers level of satisfaction. This is because every distinct consumer has their own priority of need before even getting a new handphone. The research will be focusing on the capability of the iPhone and what it has to offer to the customers that makes it different and better than its competitors. These capabilities refer back to the factors which were mentioned earlier in the paragraph earlier. Technology for hand phones has been developing endlessly with new features offered as time past. Apples new range of products, especially the iPhone shows such vast improvement. The research first looks at the background of the company which is Apple and what they have offered to their customers before launching the iPhone. Next, the research will provide detailed explanation and information on each factor that will affect the customers satisfaction. The research will use only secondary data such as online journals and articles, blogs and newspapers so that the latest information can be obtained for the research. In the conclusion, the research will show which factor would be of most importance before considering on getting an iPhone. Price Price would be the basic factor where it doesnt only affect potential customers but also customers who already purchased the product. This basic factor does not cause customer satisfaction if it is fulfilled but it does cause dissatisfaction it is not fulfilled (Kano 1984). This explains the curve for basic factor in Figure 2.0 where the curve is below the graph and not above. Apple has started selling the 8GB iPhone at US $599 at its released before implementing a promotional price of US $399 for the festive season. The original pricing was a market-skimming pricing strategy where the iPhone was set a high price as it is a whole new product in the hand phone industry to cover development cost (Philip Kotler et. al. 2005, p. 302). The expensive price tag on the iPhone can also to relate to the product life cycle of the particular product. Product life cycle shows the whole process of the products life, from the beginning of it till the possible end of it where it consists of four stages which is introduction, growth, maturity and decline. It maybe a matter of a few hours like the newspaper, months for fashion and style, years (VCD, DVD) or decades (Volkswagen Beetle) (Heizer Render 2007, p. 157). The price reduction for the festive season is a promotional pricing strategy to get more customers to buy the iPhone (Philip Kotler et. al. 2005, p. 308). The cut of US $200 has stirred up early buyers and caused dissatisfaction. But as mentioned by Job (2007), the price reduction was supposed to benefit both Apple and every iPhone user to get as many new customers as possible in the iPhone ‘tent. Having said that, Apple issued the $100 credit to the early buyers for them to use on their next purchase at Apple stores. Besides that, buying the iPhone is not just bout getting the hand phone because iPhone only allows ATT line, therefore the customer would need to pay a minimum of US $1939.75 which includes ($599.99 x 24months. and 499.99 4GB iPhone) (ATT iPhone Rate Plans, Prices, Costs, and What You Get 2007). Having said that, the iPhone is only tied with ATT, it still attracted many customers. The downside of getting the iPhone is that the user has to comply with the ATT contract that he or she has signed up with. If the user wants to carry on, he or she has to pay a $175 termination fee though the phones cost isnt subsidized under the long term agreement. This termination fee which is quoted at a high price dissatisfy customers it is a big investment where most customers would go for the 8GB model rather than the 4GB model which will land up causing them to spend more the USD $ 2000. Quality From this factor, the research will look more in depth in quality where total quality management systems are driven by identifying and satisfying customer needs. The key dimensions of qualities include durability, interface and functionality. It is believed that the trade-off between the cost of improving quality and the cost of poor quality, the cost of poor quality is understated (Heizer Render 2007, p. 194). Providing good quality product does not only glorify the companys name but also create loyal customers that will keep buying the products and become brand loyal to it. Durability The first factor in quality that will look at is the durability of the iPhone. It would be a shame to lose a $500 to $600 iPhone to a minor mishap therefore many customers such as bloggers and even product reviewer always put new technology gadgets for a stress test. PC World conducted one of the many stress tests for the iPhone around the world. Firstly, the iPhone was as stuffed in a plastic bag full of keys and small pebbles. Then the iPhone screen was rubbed against the keys and pebble with a fair amount of force as if like the user was leaning against the counter with his iPhone and keys in the jeans pocket. The result was outstanding as the screen of the iPhone was as pristine as when it went it but there are scratches on the back of it. To take the test to another level, a key was taken and scratched across the glass screen of the iPhone, but it still fail to scratch it. Next, the iPhone went trough a drop test where it started of on a carpeted floor to a concrete sidewalk and from the height of the waist line to the head level. The same hand phone was dropped repeatedly but it still worked normally and the glass display survived without a scratch after the drop test. Overall, the iPhone still looks impressively good but however the only obvious damage would be a few gouges along its metal edge from the drops onto the concrete. Interface The excitement factors are where it increases customers satisfaction if fulfilled but it doesnt cause dissatisfaction if it is not achieved. These factors of surprise are to generate delight among the consumers and it is used by the company to distinguish itself from the competitors in a positive way (Kano, 1984). This is why the excitement factor curve is above the graph of the Kano Model in Figure 2.0. The iPhone /a>features the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse which came from the iPod. The multi-touch screen technology is an entirely new interface based on a large multi-touch display and innovative new software that lets the user control everything using only the fingers. Therefore the user can glide through albums with ‘Cover Flow option, flip through photos and email them with a touch, or zoom in and out on a section of a web page just by using pinch in or pinch out motion; all by simply using iPhones multi-touch display. Jeff Hans multi touch system uses a technique called Frustrated Total Internal Reflection (FTIR). It involves the use of a transparent screen with the images rear-projected onto it. For touch-sensing, a camera is placed behind the screen to detect the user interaction. On the human-computer interaction, it is a discipline concerned with the design, evaluation and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them. The basic goal of human-computer interaction is to improve interaction between users and computers by making computers more user-friendly to the users needs. The iPhone has brought human-computer interaction to a whole new level with the multi-touch screen interface. Though it has its flaws, but if the iPhone is to be compared to hand-phones such as the Nokia N95, the iPhone is not only more stylish but its easier to use (refer to Figure 1.0). Ergonomics or in the words which is human factors is the application of scientific information concerning humans to the design of objects, systems and environment for human use. Usually when the word ergonomics is brought up, it focuses more on office environment where the right office furniture and the right computers system can maximizes work efficiency because there will be comfort when the employees to carry out their task in the office. But looking at the iPhones multi-touch screen interface, it does have its own distinct pros and cons. Though browsing through pictures and music can be such a breeze, but typing a SMS or any activity that requires typing on the iPhone would be a little more difficult because there is no physical keyboard on the iPhone as the iPhone is completely a touch screen handphone except for the power button and the home button. Adding to that, the iPhone does not include a touch screen pen and the on-the-screen keyboard is rather cramp, making hard for use rs with big thumbs. Functionality Technical Specification Technical specification of a handphone is the most basic and the most important part to look at before buying a handphone. This is where the performance factor comes in where every attribute of the product is being analyzed. Basically, satisfaction can be gain when the performance of the product is good or high and it causes dissatisfaction if the performance is low or bad. Therefore, the line for performance factors is linear line that cuts across the graph as shown in Figure 2.0. Firstly, the flash memory capacity which comes in 4GB or 8GB which is a lot for a handphone but there will be no memory expansion for the iPhone. With no memory expansion and with a maximum capacity of 8GB, it defies the iPod feature in the iPhone because the maximum capacity of 8GB comes in second compared to the 16GB iPod Touch which looks exactly like the iPhone. The iPhone also includes a 2 mega pixel camera but it is without flash which is quite disappointing for a hand-phone which costs a lot and has a nice 3.5 inch diagonal display. Besides that, the battery life for the iPhone is quite lasting compared to the competitors as how it is displayed in Figure 1.0 under the ‘talk-time column. The audio option in the iPhone is actually a build in iPod where with just a touch on the menu, users can listen to their music on the go. Adding to that, the audio support supports common files such as MP3, AAC and WAV, therefore there is no need to convert files before transferring it i nto the iPhone. The video support for iPhone has not opened up just like all iPods where it only allows limited video formats H.264, mp4 and M-PEG 4 video. This makes the iPhone quite an unreliable video player compared to other hand phones and mp4 players such as CREATIVE ZEN mp4 which can play common video format such as (.avi). On the contrary, Apple has another feature can cover this flaw which is easy access to YouTube on the iPhone which allows users to watch YouTube videos on the go, as long there is WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) connection present. This brings us to the WiFi feature which allows users to surf not only for YouTube, but also to surf the internet with the embedded Safari internet browser. Safari is a web browser just like Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox where it allow users to surf the web on the iPhone just like how they surf the internet on their computer. Users can also purchase songs instantly on the go or songs that they listen at Starbucks through the iTunes Music Store. This requires WiFi and an iTunes account in order to proceed. A short sample of each song can be heard on iTunes before choosing to purchase it for only USD $ 0.99 per song. Conclusion Having stated all the factors above such as price, durability, interface, human-computer interaction, ergonomics and technical specification, all this contributes to customer satisfaction where it was divided into 3 which are basic factors, excitement factors and performance factors. Each of these factors has it pros and cons where it depends in the consumers preference on which would be of great importance. To summarize it, the iPhone does comes with a very nice appearance and nice touch screen interface but the expensive price tag that comes along with it makes customers take a step back to reevaluate whether is it really worth to invest in an iPhone With the Customer Satisfaction Model by N. Kano, consumer can use this model to place all the iPhones attributes according to their perception on to the model and see how the iPhone fairs out in the outcome. Ultimately, the basic factor which is price would be the most important factor because of the ATT line subscription which will last for two years and will cost a lot even for a working customer. Reference: Heizer, Render 2007, Operations Management, Pearson International Edition Kotler, Amstrong, SH Ang, SM Leong, CT Tan, K.Tse, Principles of Marketing, Pearson Prentice Hall Multi-touch screen interface Retrieved 14 November, 2007, from http://multi-touchscreen.com/iphone.html iPhone Competitive Data [Image] 2007 Retrieved 15 November, 2007, from http://www.apple.com/iphone/pr/20070618iphone.html Customer Satisfaction Model [Image] 1984 Retrieved 15 November, 2007, from http://www.12manage.com/methods_kano_customer_satisfaction_model.html

Psychological Conflicts In Literature(1) :: essays research papers

We all experience psychological conflicts, knowingly or unknowingly. They involve psychological conflicts among our thoughts, emotions, and rational thinking. It may be the most dangerous conflict of all due to the battleground in which it take place in -- our mind. There are many examples of psychological conflicts in the stories we have read. In "Leiningen Versus the Ants" by Carl Stephenson, Leiningen battled not only on his South American plantation, but in his mind. He struggled with the issue of running away and letting the ants take over his plantation. He wasn't a quitter and enjoys the mental aspects of things. But when the ants and the reality of death came, he had to resolve the conflict whether to stay or flee. This was especially true when he ran to the dam wheel. He could of fled then or died, but he chose to try to save the plantation and workers. He was faced with the conflict living or, perhaps the greatest psychological conflict, which he resolved when he chose to run to the wheel. In "The Contents of the Dead Man's Pockets" by Jack Finney, Tom also faced a psychological conflict. The story was mainly focused on his physical conflict, but near the end he experienced psychological conflict. As with Leiningen, Tom faced the choice to die or to live, and he realized with that conflict how much his wife meant to him. He overcame the conflict when, as we read, the yellow paper flew out the window again, but he left to be with his wife. In "Blues Ain't No Mockin'bird" by Toni Cade Bambara, Granny experienced a psychological conflict with her past treatment and her current conflict with Smiley and Camera. She struggled to break and maybe actually kill them or fall into depression, but she was successful in winning the conflict.

Wonder Woman

Wonder woman is one of the greatest superheroes of all time. She was conceived as a symbol of loving femininity that would dominate the male instincts towards war and destruction; she does this through empowerment. Wonder Woman acts as a very condensed version of Charles Moulton, the creator of Wonder Woman, theories on gender and the urges of men and woman. Although misrepresenting his own theory of the humanity for men and women, Wonder Woman is the perfect allegory to Moulton’s idea that men can only be forceful and aggressive, while women are capable of both force and love. Women represent love; men represent force. Man’s use of force without love brings evil and unhappiness. Wonder Woman proves that women are superior to men because they have love as an additional force† (Steinem 345). In the Wonder Woman comic book, as a reminder of what they were put through and why they were made, all Amazons must wear bracelets that resemble the shackles they were once th reatened with. Most young boys do not possess the empathy needed to put themself in the mind of an Amazon princess.For the ones who do, are often ridiculed for having an egalitarian worldview about men and women. â€Å"No wonder I was inspired and confused by the isolationism of Paradise Island: Did woman have to live separately in order to be happy and courageous? No wonder even boys who could accept equality might have felt less than good about themselves in some of these stories: Were there any men who could escape the cultural instruction to be violent? , Steinem stated showing her empathy for young boys. This just goes to show that no matter how against the grain one may be for their time, some parts of the culture, especially in regards to gender roles, gets drilled into your head. Ignoring all of the controversy on the situation, males should be able to form their own conclusions about equality in American society today without conviction and travesty from others.

Collision and Collusion

Collision and Collusion Collision and Collusion Collision and Collusion By Maeve Maddox A philosophical question from a reader prompts this post: I find it very interesting how collision is so close to collusion, considering the strange financial shenanigans that occur in that business [insurance and collision repair].   What is the background of these two words?   Are they actually related in any way? Clearly, the reader has had less fortunate experiences with insurance companies and collision repair centers than I have. The only connection between collision and collusion that I can discern is the prefix col-, which is a rendering of the Latin preposition cum (with). In English words, cum has produced the prefixes com-, con-, and col-. These prefixes convey the idea of â€Å"together, together with, in combination or union.† For example, the noun companion combines com- with panis (bread). A companion is â€Å"a person to eat bread with.† Sharing a meal with someone is often a sign of intimacy. Collision comes from the verb collide (col + laedere). The Latin verb laedere means â€Å"to injure† or â€Å"to damage.† When things collide, they strike or clash together. Collusion comes from the verb collude (col + ludere), The Latin verb ludere means, â€Å"to play.† When people collude, they â€Å"play† together. The kind of play meant here is not the friendly kind. It’s the deceptive activity implied in the expressions â€Å"to play at,† â€Å"to play one false,† and â€Å"to play into someone’s hands.† Collision is â€Å"the violent encounter of a moving body with another.† On the street, a collision usually involves vehicles. In physics, particles collide. Both collision and collide are used figuratively to indicate a clash of wills. The noun collision may also be used attributively (i.e., to modify another noun). Here are examples of usage: Both of the Washington State Patrol troopers injured in collisions Sunday night near Northgate have been released from the hospital. Two Metro-North Railroad trains collided after a derailment near Fairfield, Conn., at the height of the evening rush on Friday. Somalia: What happens when political and humanitarian goals collide? Global Markets and National Politics: Collision Course or Virtuous Circle? Collusion is a secret agreement for purposes of trickery or fraud. In law, collusion is an agreement between two or more parties for the purpose of defrauding others or to gain an unfair market advantage, for example, price-fixing and inside trading. Here are some recent headlines: Big Tech Companies Agree To Pay Up Over Hiring Collusion Shell and BP accused of collusion in South Africa How Hospitals and Health Insurers Collude at Your Expense Business and Government Collude over Education Policy and Funding Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Coordinating vs. Subordinating Conjunctions50 Nautical Terms in General Use20 Movies Based on Shakespeare Plays

Using Shelve to Save Objects in Python

Using Shelve to Save Objects in Python Shelve is a  powerful Python module for object persistence. When you shelve an object, you must assign a key by which the object value is known. In this way, the shelve file becomes a database of stored values, any of which can be accessed at any time. Sample Code for Shelve in Python To shelve an object,  first import the module and then assign the object value as follows: import shelve database shelve.open(filename.suffix) object Object() database[key] object If you  want to keep a database of stocks, for example, you could adapt the following code: import shelve stockvalues_db shelve.open(stockvalues.db) object_ibm Values.ibm() stockvalues_db[ibm] object_ibm object_vmw Values.vmw() stockvalues_db[vmw] object_vmw object_db Values.db() stockvalues_db[db] object_db A stock values.db is already opened, you dont  need to open it again. Rather, you can open multiple databases at a time, write to each at will, and leave Python to close them when the program terminates. You could, for example, keep a separate database of names for each symbol, appending the following to the preceding code: ## assuming shelve is already imported stocknames_db shelve.open(stocknames.db) objectname_ibm Names.ibm() stocknames_db[ibm] objectname_ibm objectname_vmw Names.vmw() stocknames_db[vmw] objectname_vmw objectname_db Names.db() stocknames_db[db] objectname_db Note that any change in the name or suffix of the database file constitutes a different file and, therefore, a different database. The result is a second database file containing the given values. Unlike most files written in self-styled formats, shelved databases are saved in binary form. After the data is written to the file, it can be recalled at any time. If you want to restore the data in a later session, you re-open the file. If it is the same session, simply recall the value; shelve database files are opened in read-write mode. The following is the basic syntax for achieving this: import shelve database shelve.open(filename.suffix) object database[key] So a sample from the  preceding example would read: import shelve stockname_file shelve.open(stocknames.db) stockname_ibm stockname_file[ibm] stockname_db stockname_file[db] Considerations With Shelve It is  important to note that the database remains open until you close it (or until the program terminates). Therefore, if you are writing a program of any size, you want to close the database after working with it. Otherwise, the entire database (not just the value you want) sits in memory and consumes computing resources. To close a shelve file, use the following syntax: database.close() If all of the code examples above were incorporated into one program, we would have two database files open and consuming memory  at this point. So, after having read the stock names in the previous example, you could then close each database in turn as follows: stockvalues_db.close() stocknames_db.close() stockname_file.close()

Creativity in the workplace Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Creativity in the workplace - Article Example eative individuals by influencing creative individuals intrinsically or extrinsically and the best way to influence them is to provide work that is challenging. She further states that managers need to allow creative subordinates to work on tasks in their own way and should provide them with complete support through resources and should be flexible when failures take place. She further adds that in an organization there are both creative as well as commercial employees and the commercial ones deal with the monetary side of the organization which the creative side is not concerned about. But instead of hiding the creative side from the monetary side, the creative side and the monetary side should meet each other for discussions on expectations and targets. She further adds that continuous work may make the creative workers weak and bore so enough time should be provided to them for other activities to keep their creative cells working and this may not be productive in the short run, b ut will be productive in the longer run. Managers need to manage creativity within their workplace and ensure that creative thinking and creative work takes place continuously within the organization as it is one of the most significant components of the organization. Before motivating creative thinking, managers need to provide a guideline regarding what the organization expects the employees to achieve. This will help employees think about different ways to achieve them. Individuals work hard when the task given to them is of higher significance, thus managers need to provide employees with such tasks to tap into creative minds. If they are not assigned significant tasks, employees will perceive that managers do not trust their decision making and will become de-motivated. Creativity is a process where trial and error takes place continually. If subordinates are not aware of the monetary limitations, they will continue to experiment and this can lead to heavy losses for the

Are we obligated to provide Government aid in order to help people in Essay

Are we obligated to provide Government aid in order to help people in other countries - Essay Example The aid provided by OECD is known as official developmental aid (ODA). This aid is provided to different countries on the basis of certain terms and conditions. (OECD) Though, this aid provides great assistance to underdeveloped countries but it also has certain ethical drawbacks. Foreign assistance may result in exploitation by benefactor countries. The countries giving foreign aid may also interfere in the cultural and domestic affairs of the Recipient country. Moreover, this assistance may reach the wrong hands which may affect the correct and appropriate use of this aid. All these drawbacks are generally accepted by the public and government of donor and Recipient countries but these are the arguments which are held against the foreign aids by different scholarly and philosophical point of views. The world is composed of different nations that are trying to maintain their economic and social stability. If we divide the world into poor and rich nations, we will realize that two third of the nations of the world are extremely poor and the remaining one third are extremely rich. It is obvious that the poor nations desperately need the assistance and help of the rich nations for their development but this help can be hazardous if each of the rich nations follows its own unrealistic philosophy of equity and justice. In order to make this aid and assistance fruitful we need a governing force that can ensure the appropriate and justifiable use of the foreign aid. But if we look into the practical world we will realize that there is a lack of proper governing body as U.N is not strong enough to implement any policy against the will of its strong and influential members. We should also keep in mind that rich countries do not provide aid for free they gain something from it as well, such as the right to manipulate the decisions of the recipient countries according to their will and to have the right to have a say in their domestic matters. They also provide aid to some under developed countries so that they can forcefully get the military assistance of these countr ies for their selfish interests. An example of this can be seen in Pakistan, while United States of America donates huge amounts of money to Pakistan it asks for the military assistance of Pakistan in return. Pakistan provides military assistance to America in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan. (The Times of India) Though this norm is acceptable to the people and the government of these countries most of the NGOs and scholars are against it as it is not ethical to exploit the human resources of the recipient country because you are providing aid to them. But this assistance has some advantages as well because by providing military assistance Pakistan along with the United States of America can play a part in getting rid of terrorism. Another major drawback is the interference in the cultural and domestic matters of the recipient country. The financial aid provided by the donor country does not give it the right to interfere in the interstate matters of the recipient country. A recent example of this issue is the protest against Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, when this protest grew wilder; the United States